Pubdate: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 Source: North County Times (Escondido, CA) Copyright: 2009 North County Times Contact: http://www.nctimes.com/forms/letters/editor.html Website: http://www.nctimes.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080 Author: David Garrick Cited: Escondido City Council http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/government/members/index.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) CITY BANS MEDICAL POT DISPENSARIES Public Safety Deemed More Important Than Pain Relief Escondido banned medical marijuana dispensaries Wednesday night, joining San Marcos as the only North County cities to adopt such legislation. Escondido officials said a "proactive" approach was important because dispensaries have been shown to increase local crime, set a bad example for youth and give people arrested for marijuana possession a more plausible explanation for carrying the drug. But opponents said the city was risking lawsuits by moving too quickly, and a man planning to open a dispensary on Metcalf Street lobbied the City Council to adopt alternative legislation that would have carefully governed how dispensaries could operate. The council opted to ban dispensaries, but council members acknowledged marijuana's benefits as a painkiller for sick people and expressed some reservations about the ban. When California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, they put cities in the awkward position of deciding whether to ban or carefully regulate dispensaries. Another complication is that the drug remains illegal under federal law. Oceanside and Escondido recently adopted 45-day moratoriums so they could conduct comprehensive reviews of the issue. Oceanside extended its moratorium another 10 months in June, but Escondido quickly put an ordinance together at the urging of Councilman Dick Daniels. On Wednesday, Daniels said the clear and consistent negative experiences that other cities have had with dispensaries made a long review unnecessary. But Councilwoman Olga Diaz said her biggest concern in adopting the ban was the city's failure to conduct the comprehensive review promised to residents and marijuana advocates when the temporary moratorium was adopted July 8. Diaz said the city staff report on the issue was "slanted" in favor of the ban, and she called the crime concerns overblown. She suggested the city could open a dispensary in its new police station and use the revenue to support youth recreation programs. But Diaz said she reluctantly voted for the ban because medical marijuana was not among the issues she was passionate about. Councilwoman Marie Waldron said her support was based on concerns that it would be difficult to prevent people without illnesses from using the dispensaries to obtain the illegal drug. Councilman Sam Abed said the ban was about keeping children safe and making sure people did not get the wrong message that marijuana use was acceptable. "I don't want to be in a city where kids are exposed to this kind of thing," Abed said. Abed also noted that ill Escondido residents would not have to travel too far to get marijuana at the nearest dispensaries to the city, which are in Vista and Mira Mesa. Daniels said a key argument in favor of the ban was sparing Escondido police officers from the hassle and effort required by dispensaries, which tend to attract burglars, loitering and illegal drug sales on adjacent streets. The local social service and drug prevention communities came out in strong support of the ban, with nearly a dozen speakers hailing Daniels and the council for moving so quickly. Only two people spoke against the ban. One of them was Stephen Wheeler, who prompted Escondido to explore the issue when he approached them about opening the city's first dispensary in late May. Wheeler said the city's analysis was too cursory and legally dubious. "Why in the world would we put Escondido in the position of being the next in line for a legal challenge," Wheeler asked the council. Joseph Malander, another medical marijuana advocate, said the negatives cited by the city were not enough to trump the pain relief that marijuana can provide to sick people. He also disputed the city's concerns about crime. "Bad things are going to happen in a bad part of town, dispensary or not," he said, suggesting that a dispensary should be located in the medical district near Palomar Medical Center. In other business, the council banned smoking in city parks, trails and open spaces. Escondido is one of the last cities in the county to adopt such a ban. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake